Hearing protection use in industry: The role of risk perception

Scientific literature on high-noise exposure effects is very extensive. Therefore, health and safety practitioners are aware of those effects and they know, very often, how to avoid it. However, workers exposed to high-noise levels often ignore the consequences of such exposure, or at least, their extension. Despite all advances in the study of occupational noise mitigation, the individual perception analysis and its implications on workers' behaviour, such as the use of Hearing Protection Devices (HPD), has been a minor research area. Some previous studies have concluded that individual perception, as well as contextual factors, are important predictors of safety behaviour, including the use of HPD. The present study comprises a sample of 434 industrial workers exposed to noise pressure levels greater than the action level defined in Portuguese legislation (85 dB(A)) and it aims at analysing the associations between some particular aspects of individual risk perception of noise exposure and the HPD use, as well as identifying the main factors influencing individual's risk perception. For this purpose, and considering the literature review, it was developed a questionnaire to assess workers risk perception of high-noise exposure and their HPD use profile. The multivariate data analysis of the several variables considered revealed that risk perception plays a significant role as a predictor of workers' behaviour, namely in what concerns the use of HPD. Furthermore, these results do suggest that risk perception should be considered as an essential issue in the design and implementation of any Hearing Conservation Program.